Door closer assembly



Jan. 8, 1963 c;i P. PATRIQUIN DooR CLOSER AssmBLY Filed Sept. 7, 1960V3,071,800 Patented Jan. 8, 1963 3,071,800 DOR CLOSER ASSEMBLY George P.Patriquin, Gardener, Mass., assigner to Independent Lock Company,Fitchburg, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Sept. 7, 1960,Ser. No. 54,448 13 Claims. (Cl. 16-66) This invention relates to a doorcloser assembly, and more particularly to a. door closing and dampeningassembly whereby a door, when opened and released, is smoothly andslowly returned to the closed position.

Still more particularly, this invention relates to an air dampened doorclosing assembly wherein a cylinder having air bleed means at one end issecured to a door, a piston reciprocably mounted in said cylinder isoperatively associated with the frame of the door, and a spring isbiased between the piston and the cylinder. When the door Vis opened,the spring is further biased and when the door is released, the biasedspring, in urging the piston toward the bleed end of the cylinder,returns the door to the closed position, said closing movement beingdampened by the restricted air passage provided in the bleed end of thecylinder.

This invention, in its more specific phases, relates to an improved doorcloser assembly having a novel and easily assembled end cap closuremeans. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide animproved air dampened door closer assembly.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved airdampened door closer which maybe economically produced and easilyassembled as compared with assemblies heretofore known.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide an improved doorcloser assembly having a novel construction to permit the use of aplastic end cap.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a novel dampenerassembly having a friction reducing, selflubricating plastic end capagainst which the closing spring may be biased, which end cap issubstantially free from any tendency to become dislodged from the aircylinder when said closing spring is biased thcreagainst.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a dampener andcloser assembly with a plastic end cap as aforesaid, capable of beingsnapped into engagement 'with the cylinder, wherein the cap forms atight seal with the dampener cylinder to prevent detritus, water or thelike from entering the bore at the junction of the cap and cylinder saidseal being augmented by the biasing action l of the closer springagainst the end cap.

To attain these objects and such further objects as may appear herein orbe hereinafter pointed out, reference is made to the accompanyingdrawing, forming a part hereof, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a ydoor and door frame to which thecloser assembly has been applied;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGUR-E 3 is an exploded, pre-assembly view of the end cap and end ofthe air cylinder;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary section similar to the section of FIGURE 2showing the position of the parts when the closer spring is biasedagainst the end cap of the assembly;

FIGURE 5 is a cross section taken on the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2. t

In accordance with the invention, a cylinder member is provided at oneend v11 with air bleed means 12. To the end 11 of the cylinder there isalso secured a bracket 13, pivotally connected at 14 to said end, whichbracket is adapted to be mounted to a door D, as shown in FIG- URE l. Apiston rod 15 is provided adjacent its leading end 16 with piston head17, which head is adapted to provide a close lit with the inner walls ofthe cylinder 10. 'I'he outer end 18 of the piston rod 15 is pivotallysecured to bracket 19, which in turn is secured to the door frame Y F,as shown in FEGURE 1.

The air cylinder 10, adjacent its outer end 20, is provided lwith aseries of keeper slots 21, which slots are preferably equally spacedfrom each other about the circumference of said cylinder 10 and equallyspaced from the end 20 of said cylinder.

An end cap of closure 24 is anchored against the end 20 of the aircylinder l10. While the end cap23 may be made of almost any resilientmaterial having suflicient structural strength, the use of nylon plastichas been found to be advantageous.l As an example of a preferred nylonplastic, reference is made to Zytel 101, which is a polymeric amideresin or the resin formed by reacting adipic acid with hexamethylenediamine, as more fully described in the publication entitled Zytel NylonResin, copyright 1956 by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc., page 9.

The end cap 23, as best seen in FIGURE 3, includes a disk-like bodyportion 24 having a plurality of radially outwardly extending flangesegments 25, which may dene therebetween gripper portions 26. From theinner side of the disk 24, there extends a generally cylindrical web 27,from which web there are extended the latching ringer portions 28. Eachsaid latching nger 28 is provided with a radially outwardly extendinglatching lug 29, said latching lugs being provided with a forwardlydirected shoulder portion 30 and a rearwardly directed undercut cammingportion 31, at the rearmost junction of the lugs 29 with the fingers 28.The end cap 23 is formed with a central aperture 32 and an inwardlyextending cylindrical sleeve 33, the center boring of which forms acontinuation of the said aperture 32.

The outer leading edge portions 34 of the lingers 28 may be providedwith a taper or bevel to facilitate the insertion of the end cap 23 to aposition within the bore of the cylinder 10u In said inserted position,the latching lugs 29 will be projected out through the complementallyspaced keeper slots 21 so that each said locking lug 29 1will, in theassembled position of the cap, be projected outwardly by the resilienceof the ngers 28 through one of said slots 21.

The radially outwardly disposed portions 29a of the lugs 29 are taperedor angularly oriented from a low position adjacent the forward shoulder30 to a high trailing position at the rearward portion of the said lugs29 to provide camming faces for further facilitating insertion to aposition within the bore of the cylnder 10, it being readily recognizedthat such surfaces 29a coact with the inner portion of the end 20 ofcylinder 10` to bias the fingers 28 further radially inwardly.

In the assembled condition of the dampener, a relatively heavy coilspring 40 is biased between the end cap 23 and the piston head 17. Theconvolutions 40a, 40b, 40C of the spring 40 which will lie nearest theend cap 43 are formed with progressively increasing diameters, with theconvolution 40o being of greater diameter than the convolution 40awhich, in the assembled condition of the closer, lies against the innerface of the end cap 23 and surrounds cylindrical sleeve 33. The adjacentsucceeding convolutions of the spring 40 proceed in a direction towardthe piston head 17 and have an outside diameter to provide relativelysmall clearance with the inner or under surfaces 28a of the lingers 2S.Thus, in the assembled condition of the dampener, the wider convolutedcoil 40C and the adjacent, forwardly disposed convolutions lie forwardlyout of radial registry with the lingers 28.

Further, it will be readily recognized that the action of the spring 40,after initial insertion of the fingers 28 to projected position throughkeeper slots 2l, will shift the cap or closure 23 rearwardly so that thetrailing retainer shoulders or edges 2in of the keeper slots will lie inthe undercut portions 31 provided on the lugs 29. The camming portionsSla of undercuts 31 drive the fingers 28 radially outwardly as the capis urged rearwardly by the spring 40. This action lessens the likelihoodof accidental disengagement of the cap Z3, and will also serve toprovide a tight fit about slots 2 by forcing the outer portions of thefingers 28 surrounding lugs 29 tightly against the inside of the boresurrounding the slots 2l, thereby excluding detritus, water or the likefrom the bore and permitting the unit to be used out of doors.

It will be readily recognized that while the wire convolutions of thecoil 4t2* ie forwardly out of registry with the fingers 28 in therelatively untensioned position of the spring 40 (see FIGURE 2), whenthe door D is opened, the rearwardly travelling piston head 17 willshift one or more of such wider convolutions into radial registry withthe fingers 28 (see FIGURE 4). Thus, as the door is opened, the springis biased against the end cap 23 with an increasing force, which forcemay be further augmented if the door is swung to a position whereby thecoil 40 is fully compacted. As the door is swung to such position, andthe spring 40 entirely compacted, a relatively enormous force may beexerted through the compacted spring against the cap 23. While the shearresistance of the lugs 29 has been found to be ample to resist ruptureunder the combined forces of the fully tensioned spring and the impactagainst the end 23 upon compaction of the spring, there is a tendencyunder such conditions, notwithstanding the undercuts 3l, for the lingers28 to be shifted radially inwardly. This tendency is particularlyevident where the end cap material is plastic and of a nature to permitdistortion and deformation under extreme conditions of stress. Shouldthe fingers 28 move radially inwardly a distance sufiicient to permitthe lugs 29 to move out of engagement with the keeper slots 2l, the endcap Z3 would obviously become dislodged from the cylinder and thedampener device would fly apart.

In the described device, however, the wide convolutions of the coil 4dwhich are moved into registry with fingers 28 in the biased position ofthe spring 4t), limit the inward movement of the fingers 28 and thusmechanically prevent the withdrawal of lugs 29 from keeper slots 21,notwithstanding temporary distortion of said lugs 29.

It should be noted that only the wider convolutions of spring 4)interfere with the radial inward movement of the fingers 28 and sincethe wider convolutes are normally forwardly positioned with respect tothe fingers Z8, said wider convolutions do not interfere with the inwardliexing of such fingers which is necessary for assembling the end cap tothe cylinder.

While inthe aforedescribed embodiment, the inner convolutes of thespring 40 serve as the retainer means for limiting inward radialmovement of the fingers 28, this function need not be carried out by thecoil spring and, accordingly, an annular collar or the like may be usedfor` this purpose, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Also, it will be seen that the flange may be omitted, since the biasinginfluence of spring 4t) would prevent entry of the cap 23 into the boreof the cylinder.

Having thus described the invention and illustrated its use, what isclaimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A door closer assembly or the like comprising a cylinder having anopen end, keeper means adjacent said open end of said cylinder, bleedmeans at the other end of said cylinder, a piston reciprocable in saidcylinder, a resilient closure member secured at said open end of saidcylinder, said closure including latching means having portions withinthe bore of said cylinder, and portions radially outwardly biased intoengagement with said keeper means and a coil spring interposed betweensaid closure and said piston and urging the piston toward the other endof the cylinder, said coil Spring including a plurality of convolutionsnormally out of radial registry with said latching means and of adiameter to limit radial inward movement of said latching means, atleast one said convolution being shifted into radial registry with saidportions of the latching means within said bore when said piston isdisplaced away from said other end of said cylinder.

2. A door closer assembly or the like comprising a cylinder having anopen end, keeper means adjacent said open end of said cylinder, bleedmeans at the other end of said cylinder, a piston reciprocable in saidcylinder, a resilient closure member secured at said open end of saidcylinder, said closure including latching means having portions withinthe bore of said cylinder and portions radially outwardly biased intoengagement with said keeper means and a coil spring interposed betweensaid closure and said piston and urging the piston toward the other endof the cylinder, said coil spring including a plurality of constrictedconvolutions normally disposed radially inwardly of said latching meansand a plurality of convolutions of a diameter to limit radial inwardmovement of said latching means normally disposed out of registry withsaid latching means, said piston and spring cooperating, when saidpiston is displaced away from said other end of said cylinder, to shiftat least one of said last named convolutions into radial registry withsaid portions of said latching means within said bore.

3. A door closer assembly or the like 4comprising a. cylinder having anopen end, a plurality of keeper slots defined by the walls of saidcylinder adjacent said open end, a piston reciprocable in said cylinder,a resilient closure member having a plurality of longitudinallyextending fingers within said bore, a lug member formed on each saidfinger, each said lug member being biased by one of said fingersradially outwardly through one of said keeper slots, shoulder means onsaid closure member lying against said open end of said cylinder and acoil spring interposed between said closure member and said piston andurging the piston away from said open end of said cylinder, said coilspring including a plurality of convolutions of a diameter to limitradial inward movement of said lingers, at least one said convolution ofsaid coil spring being in registry with said fingers when said piston ismoved toward said open end of said cylinder.

4. A door closer assembly or the like comprising a cylinder having anopen end, a plurality of keeper slots defined by the walls of saidcylinder adjacent said open end, a piston reciprocable in said cylinder,a resilient closure member having a plurality of longitudinallyextending iingers within said bore, a lug member formed on each saidfinger, each said lug member being biased by one of said fingersradially outwardly through one of said keeper slots, shoulder means onsaid closure member lying against said open end of said cylinder and acoil spring interposed between said closure member and said piston, saidcoil spring including a plurality of constricted convolutions normallydisposed radially inwardly of said fingers and a plurality ofconvolutions of a diameter to limit radial inward movement of saidlatching means normally disposed out of registry with said latchingmeans, said piston and spring being operatively associated to shift atleast one of said last named convolutions into registry with saidfingers when said piston is shifted toward said open end of saidcylinder.

5. A device in accordance with claim 3 wherein said lugs define undercutportions at the junction of said lugs with said fingers.

6. A device in accordance with claiml 4 wherein said lugs defineundercut portions yat the junction of said lugs with said fingers.

7. A device in `accordance withclaim 1 wherein said closure member isformed yof nylon and is centrally apertured to provide a slide bearingfor the section of the piston rod extended therethrough.

8. A device in accordance with claim 2 wherein said closure member isformed of nylon and is centrally apertured to provide a slide bearingfor the section of the piston rod extended therethrough.

9. A door closer assembly or the like comprising a cylinder having anopen end, a plurality of keeper slots defined by the walls of saidcylinder adjacent said open end, -a piston reciprocable in saidcylinder, a resilient closure member having a plurality oflongitudinally extending fingers within said bore, a lug member formedon each said finger, each said lug member being biased by one of saidfingers radially outwardly through one of said keeper slots, thetrailing edges of said lug members defining an acute angle with saidfingers at the junction of said lugs and fingers and a compressed coilspring interposed between said closure and said piston.

10. A door closer .assembly or the `like comprising a cylinder having anopen end, a plurality of keeper slots defined by `the w-alls of saidcylinder ladjacent said end including trailing retainer shoulderportions, a piston reciprocably mounted in said cylinder, a resilientclosure member secured in 4said open end, said closure member includinga plurality of fingers extending longitudinally Within said bore innumber corresponding to the number of said slots, said fingers includingarcuate outer portions conforming to the inner wall portions `of saidbore surrounding said slots :and lug members extending radiallyoutwardly through said slots, said lug members including a trailing camface contacting said trailing retainer shoul- (i ders of said slots,said faces sloping outwardly and rearwardly, and a closer spring memberbiased against said cap to urge said lugs toward said open end of saidcylinder.

11. A door closer assembly -or the like comprising a cylinder having anopen end, a plurality of keeper slots defined by ythe walls of saidcylinder adjacent said open end, a piston reciprocable in said cylinder,a resilient closure member having a plurality of longitudinallyextending fingers Within said bore, a lug member formed on each saidfinger, each said lug member being biased by one of lsaid lingersradially outwardly through one of said keeper slots, shoulder means 0nsaid closure member lying against said open end of said cylinder andgenerally 4annular retainer means of a diameter to limit radial.movement of said fingers in an inward direction operatively associatedwith said piston, said retainer means being disposed out of registrywith said fingers when said piston is moved away from said open end andbeing disposed in registry with said fingers when said piston is movedtoward said open end.

l2. A device in accordance With claim 11 wherein said lugs defineundercut portions at :the junction of said lugs with said fingers.

13. A device in accordance with claim 11 wherein said closure member isformed of nylon and is centr-ally apertured to provide a slide bearingfor the section of the piston rod extended therethrough.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

11. A DOOR CLOSER ASSEMBLY OR THE LIKE COMPRISING A CYLINDER HAVING ANOPEN END, A PLURALITY OF KEEPER SLOTS DEFINED BY THE WALLS OF SAIDCYLINDER ADJACENT SAID OPEN END, A PISTON RECIPROCABLE IN SAID CYLINDER,A RESILIENT CLOSURE MEMBER HAVING A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINALLYEXTENDING FINGERS WITHIN SAID BORE, A LUG MEMBER FORMED ON EACH SAIDFINGER, EACH SAID LUG MEMBER BEING BIASED BY ONE OF SAID FINGERSRADIALLY OUTWARDLY THROUGH ONE OF SAID KEEPER SLOTS, SHOULDER MEANS ONSAID CLOSURE MEMBER LYING AGAINST SAID OPEN END OF SAID CYLINDER ANDGENERALLY ANNULAR RETAINER MEANS OF A DIAMETER TO LIMIT RADIAL